The AGPTEK H1 is a digital audio player with solid construction, color screen and snappy, if simple, OS. Battery life is a solid 8+ hours. The sound quality is a significant step up from the "everything on one chip" DAPs and, in my opinion, an improvement over the Apple products I've used. Power users may note missing features like gapless playback, display customization, and the ability to install Rockbox. This is a solid, great sounding piece of kit.
AGPTEK offered me an H1 in exchange for an honest review of their latest DAP. It's been in my hands for over a week now--and I smile every time I power it on. According to AGPTEK, the H1 is an export version of the Aigo 108 with improvements and changes made to "navigation and function design." The player comes packaged in a minimalist black box with a USB cable and user manual. The packaging is simple, but I would consider it very much gift quality.
Physically, the player is metal construction, matte black with a glossy black back. The face is dominated by a color screen with a button wheel on the lower left and, to the right, a vertical row of three buttons for play/pause, open submenu, and return to last menu. The center button on the wheel is silver with a blue LED backlight (which can be disabled). The USB socket is on the bottom edge, flanked by the headphone and line out ports. The right edge has the memory card slot, a power/hold slider switch and a volume dial which protrudes slightly from the devices rectangular shape. Initially, I thought the volume dial was simply a design affectation. However, I've grown to love it! Virtually any way I hold or pick up the device, my thumb or pointer finger can easily tweak the volume but the dial is well protected from accidental turning. All the buttons are solid and responsive. In sum, the build quality on this is first rate.
The OS is quick to boot up; an AGPTEK splash screen drops you right into a group of icons for genre, artist, playlists, folder and so forth (or it continues playing where you left off, depending on your settings). However, other menus are text lists; I would've preferred a more graphic approach that utilizes the good size color screen (although I suspect that would have battery life implications). See the photo below for the now playing screen. The settings available include custom EQ, where to resume playback at power on, sleep timer, brightness and so forth. Files can have up to 10 bookmarks for those of you with audiobooks or other lengthy pieces. One missing level of customization, however, is on the now playing screen. It would be nice to be able to select the data displayed and to make the cover art larger than its current too small thumbnail size. For what it's worth, AGPTEK has said this might be improved in a later version. If you select your music from the folder, you'll have access to all your music on the device and the memory card. As with many other Chinese players, if you access via the music feature there is a 4,000 song limit. There is no gapless playback and Rockbox is not an option.
When I turned on the player, I was using an inexpensive pair of urbanfun hybrid IEMs. I selected a FLAC from Beck's Morning Phase and was immediately hit with two words: "detail and depth." Before, I'd always appreciated the concept of soundstage mostly in terms of width. This player showed me what I'd been missing. I was also hearing a new level of clarity and precision in the detail. I listened for flaws, e.g. hum or noise in the space between tracks, but heard none. I cycled through other IEMs and headphones (e.g.,FiiO EX1, Bose AE2, Monk+) and each one's unique capabilities were more well-defined when driven by the H1. Next I took a quality MP3 (Prince, Crimson and Clover) and borrowed my wife's iTouch. I recognize it's sort of an apples/oranges comparison, but I felt that the sound from the H1 was less congested. I was able to focus on details that were simply lost coming from the iTouch. The WM8740 DAC in the H1 has been around a while, but I can't fault it's performance from where I sit. Of course the real test would be a comparison between the H1 and it's peers at this price point, the Xduoo X3 and the FiiO X1--unfortunately I have neither. It should be noted that I don't consider myself an "audiophile" listener and I don't have alot of high-end gear. That said, I'm really impressed with what this DAP delivers and how it's showing me new things in familiar tracks.
In sum, this is very fun, cool little DAP that packs an audio punch well above it's price point. A bit of work on the OS would make this even more consumer friendly. For those who don't need Rockbox type control, the AGPTEK H1 is an easy choice. This DAP elevates your mobile audio game. And yes, I'm still smiling every time I power it on.
AGPTEK offered me an H1 in exchange for an honest review of their latest DAP. It's been in my hands for over a week now--and I smile every time I power it on. According to AGPTEK, the H1 is an export version of the Aigo 108 with improvements and changes made to "navigation and function design." The player comes packaged in a minimalist black box with a USB cable and user manual. The packaging is simple, but I would consider it very much gift quality.
Physically, the player is metal construction, matte black with a glossy black back. The face is dominated by a color screen with a button wheel on the lower left and, to the right, a vertical row of three buttons for play/pause, open submenu, and return to last menu. The center button on the wheel is silver with a blue LED backlight (which can be disabled). The USB socket is on the bottom edge, flanked by the headphone and line out ports. The right edge has the memory card slot, a power/hold slider switch and a volume dial which protrudes slightly from the devices rectangular shape. Initially, I thought the volume dial was simply a design affectation. However, I've grown to love it! Virtually any way I hold or pick up the device, my thumb or pointer finger can easily tweak the volume but the dial is well protected from accidental turning. All the buttons are solid and responsive. In sum, the build quality on this is first rate.
The OS is quick to boot up; an AGPTEK splash screen drops you right into a group of icons for genre, artist, playlists, folder and so forth (or it continues playing where you left off, depending on your settings). However, other menus are text lists; I would've preferred a more graphic approach that utilizes the good size color screen (although I suspect that would have battery life implications). See the photo below for the now playing screen. The settings available include custom EQ, where to resume playback at power on, sleep timer, brightness and so forth. Files can have up to 10 bookmarks for those of you with audiobooks or other lengthy pieces. One missing level of customization, however, is on the now playing screen. It would be nice to be able to select the data displayed and to make the cover art larger than its current too small thumbnail size. For what it's worth, AGPTEK has said this might be improved in a later version. If you select your music from the folder, you'll have access to all your music on the device and the memory card. As with many other Chinese players, if you access via the music feature there is a 4,000 song limit. There is no gapless playback and Rockbox is not an option.
When I turned on the player, I was using an inexpensive pair of urbanfun hybrid IEMs. I selected a FLAC from Beck's Morning Phase and was immediately hit with two words: "detail and depth." Before, I'd always appreciated the concept of soundstage mostly in terms of width. This player showed me what I'd been missing. I was also hearing a new level of clarity and precision in the detail. I listened for flaws, e.g. hum or noise in the space between tracks, but heard none. I cycled through other IEMs and headphones (e.g.,FiiO EX1, Bose AE2, Monk+) and each one's unique capabilities were more well-defined when driven by the H1. Next I took a quality MP3 (Prince, Crimson and Clover) and borrowed my wife's iTouch. I recognize it's sort of an apples/oranges comparison, but I felt that the sound from the H1 was less congested. I was able to focus on details that were simply lost coming from the iTouch. The WM8740 DAC in the H1 has been around a while, but I can't fault it's performance from where I sit. Of course the real test would be a comparison between the H1 and it's peers at this price point, the Xduoo X3 and the FiiO X1--unfortunately I have neither. It should be noted that I don't consider myself an "audiophile" listener and I don't have alot of high-end gear. That said, I'm really impressed with what this DAP delivers and how it's showing me new things in familiar tracks.
In sum, this is very fun, cool little DAP that packs an audio punch well above it's price point. A bit of work on the OS would make this even more consumer friendly. For those who don't need Rockbox type control, the AGPTEK H1 is an easy choice. This DAP elevates your mobile audio game. And yes, I'm still smiling every time I power it on.
